Eduardo J Fernandez

University of Adelaide · School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioural welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can produce beneficial behavioural welfare results. This paper examines the concept of train...

Behavioural research requires the use of sampling methods to document the occurrence of responses observed. Sampling/recording methods include ad libitum, continuous, pinpoint (instantaneous), and one-zero (interval) sampling. Researchers have questioned the utility of each sampling method under different contexts. Our study compared computerized s...

Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVI) within zoos and aquariums have become an increasingly studied topic. Influenced by both the broader field of Human-Animal Interactions (HAI), as well as visitor studies conducted in museums, AVI studies can be separated into two areas of focus: (1) Visitor effects, or the impact visitors have on the animals housed...

Some of the earliest applications outside the laboratory of principles derived from the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB), such as the pioneering work of Keller and Marian Breland, involved animals. This translational tradition continues to the present as EAB‐related behavior principles are applied with increasing frequency to behavior manage...

The past few decades have seen increased interest in studies examining the welfare of elephants and animal–visitor interactions. One understudied area for both pursuits is the impact of public feeding interactions. Our study examined the effects of public feedings on the general activity of three zoo-housed elephants. Prior to public feedings, we d...

Research in zoos is an important scientific endeavor that requires several complex considerations in order to occur. Among those many considerations are the ethics involved in conducting zoo research. However, it is not always clear how zoo researchers should go about resolving any research ethics matters, even determining when some type of researc...

The roles companion animals have played in our lives has dramatically changed over the last few decades. At the same time, the terms we use to describe both the people and animals in these human-animal relationships have also changed. One example includes the use of the terms 'owner' or 'guardian' to refer to the human caretaker. While preferences...

Review question/ Objective: How have stimulus preference tests been designed in applied animal settings? The objective is to examine how repeated tests of stimulus choices are designed in non-laboratory captive animal environments. A focus of this review will be the type of preference test used (e.g. paired-choice), stimulus items used (e.g. food i...

Social validity refers to the social significance and acceptability of intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Animal practitioners, who are often guided by the principles of ABA, lack the benefit of verbal participants (at least with respect to target animals) with which to assess a client's needs and preferences. The study of a learner's we...

Response-independent schedules involve the delivery of an item independent of a response requirement. Often described in the applied behavior analytic literature as "noncontingent reinforcement" (NCR), they have also frequently been used to reduce undesired or problematic behaviors. The current study examined the use of an automated response-indepe...

Many zoos favor the use of signage to encourage learning and positive visitor experiences as well as discourage negative behaviors by visitors because of its simplicity, relatively low maintenance needed, and low cost. However, current literature suggests that conventional signage has limited impact on visitors in zoos. This study hypothesized that...

Play is often considered an indicator and promotor of animal welfare and may facilitate closer cat-human relationships. However, few studies have empirically investigated these associations. The current study aimed to investigate play-related factors associated with four welfare outcome measures in cats ( Felis catus ) including: cat quality of lif...

In 1948, Skinner described the behavior of pigeons under response‐independent schedules as “superstitious,” and proposed that the responses were reinforced by contiguous, adventitious food deliveries. Subsequently, response‐independent schedules have been of interest to both basic and applied researchers, first to understand the mechanisms involved...

The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral princ...

A primary goal of zoos is to educate their visitors about global conservation efforts. Studying visitors' perceptions and attitudes towards captive and wild endangered species helps target conservation messaging. This is especially important in countries, such as Pakistan, where hunting and human-wildlife conflict pose the greatest threats to speci...

In 1948, Skinner described the behavior of pigeons under response-independent schedules as "superstitious," and proposed that the responses were reinforced by contiguous, adventitious food deliveries. Subsequently, response-independent schedules have been of interest to both basic and applied researchers, first to understand the mechanisms involved...

Paper presented online as part of the Arthur Rylah Institute Seminar Series, Heidelberg, Victoria (Australia).

The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral princ...

Behavioral diversity is a commonly used tool used to quantify the richness and evenness of animal behaviors and assess the effect of variables that may impact an animal’s quality of life. The indices used in behavioral diversity research, and the study subjects, have not been formally reviewed. This paper aims to identify which indices are being us...

Play and welfare have long been linked within animal research literature, with play considered as both a potential indicator and promoter of welfare. An indicator due to observations that play is exhibited most frequently in times when an animal's fitness is not under threat and when immediate needs such as food, water and adequate space are met. A...

Poster presented at the DVM-1 and Honours Research Day at the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA (Australia).

Paper presented at the DVM-1 and Honours Research Day at the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA (Australia).

Modern zoos and aquariums are defined by several primary goals, which include improving the welfare of their animals, public education, and inspiring visitors to develop an interest in conservation. Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) (i.e., the impact of captive animals and visitors on each other) are a primary means to study these goals. The intro...

Background: We aimed to assess whether stress, boredom, drinking motives, and/or inhibitory control were related to alcohol use during a period of social isolation. Method: Analyses were carried out on questionnaire data (N = 337) collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (7 April–3 May 2020). We first assessed changes in drinking be...

Paper presented at the Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia Conference in Sydney, NSW (Australia).

Poster presented at the SPFC Research Conference in Seattle, WA (USA).

Poster presented at the SPFC Research Conference in Seattle, WA (USA).

Paper presented at the SPFC Research Conference in Seattle, WA (USA).

Play is a common behavior, often exhibited within human-cat dyads. Play is a behavior that may have numerous benefits to both cat and human, including within the realms of social cooperation and inter-species communication. However, little is known about human-cat play and foundational information is needed. The current study aimed to investigate t...

Enclosure use assessments have gained popularity as one of the tools for animal welfare assessments and Post Occupancy Evaluations. There are now a plethora of studies and enclosure use indices available in published literature, and identification of the most appropriate index for each research question is often challenging. The benefits and limita...

Paper presented at the Pet Professional Guild's Geek Week (online), Hernando, FL (USA).

This workshop is focused on the design of novel kinds of environmental enrichment for zoo-housed reptiles, using technology to support the development of interactive systems and devices for capturing data. Participants will work virtually in small groups to ideate, reflect on and develop concepts, using a ZooJam approach, which is similar to a game...

Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably fewer studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluations of the efficacy of zoo education programs and...

The modern zoo has been associated with two major behavioral welfare advances: (a) the use of training to increase voluntary husbandry care, and (b) the implementation of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors. Both practices have their roots in behavior analysis, or the operant conditioning-centered, reward-based approach to be...

Article printed in an Applied Animal Behavior special issue of Operants, the publication of the B. F. Skinner Foundation, Fall, 2021. I was the Associate Editor of the special issue. Reference is as follows: Fernandez, E. J. (2021). Behavior analysis and the shaping of the modern zoo. Operants, 9(2-3), 14-16.

The modern zoo has been associated with two major behavioral welfare advances: (a) the use of training to increase voluntary husbandry care, and (b) the implementation of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors. Both practices have their roots in behavior analysis, or the operant conditioning-centered, reward-based approach to be...

This workshop is focused on the design of novel kinds of environmental enrichment for zoo-housed reptiles, using technology to support the development of interactive systems and devices for capturing data. Participants will work virtually in small groups to ideate, reflect on and develop concepts, using a ZooJam approach, which is similar to a game...

Video of the live trout feeding for the Humboldt penguins at Woodland Park Zoo. This is part of the study for following reference: Fernandez, E. J., Myers, M., & Hawkes, N. C. (2021). The Effects of Live Feeding on Swimming Activity and Exhibit Use in Zoo Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 2(1),...

Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably less studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluations of the efficacy of zoo education programs and...

Enclosure use assessments have gained popularity as one of the tools for animal welfare assessments and Post Occupancy Evaluations. There are now a plethora of studies and enclosure use indices available in published literature, and identification of the most appropriate index for each research question is often challenging. The benefits and limita...

Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioral welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can produce beneficial behavioral welfare results. This paper examines the concept of trainin...

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are a popularly exhibited zoo animal, frequently housed in groups to represent their natural packs in the wild. While such group housing is common, the effects of changes to that group are seldom directly investigated. This study examined the enclosure use of three African wild dog siblings located at the Woodland...

Penguins are considered among the most popular animals for zoo and aquarium visitors to observe. Swimming is considered a desirable activity, both for the visitor experience and the welfare of the penguins. However, little is known about the amount of time exhibited penguins spend swimming, or how such swimming is related to regular feeding events....

Stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function. Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom or stress and are typically treated by enriching captivity with distracting, appealing stimuli. These stimuli often include food presented at times other than...

Captive grizzly bears, like their wild counterparts, engage in considerable variability in their seasonal and daily activity. We documented the year-long activity of two grizzly bears located at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. We found that behaviors emerged in relation to month-to-month, seasonal, and time of day (hour-to-hour) obser...

The re-release of golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia), from zoos into the wild, is considered to be an ex situ conservation success story. However, zoo-born golden lion tamarins have lower survival rates than their wild-born offspring, potentially due to deficient foraging and locomotion ‘survival skills’ acquired in captivity. The curren...

This study examined two procedures for establishing halter behavior (i.e., acceptance of wearing and being led via a halter) and decreasing undesired behavior in three petting zoo goats: a fixed-time 15-s (FT-15-s) schedule and shaping involving a clicker. The FT schedule was successful in training initial approximations, but over a longer period f...

Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the present study, we examine the use of...

In the wild, hippopotamuses spend much of their daily activity in the water. In zoos, it is less clear the extent to which hippos spend time in the water. We examined how much time Woodland Park Zoo’s three hippos spent in their outdoor pool, based on: (a) temperature of the pool water, and (b) when the pool water was changed (approximately three t...

Published in the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Journal, May 1st, 2020: https://summer2020.iaabcjournal.org/saving-time-in-zoos-through-behavior-investment/

Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the following study, an African crested p...

The modern zoo has brought about two major advances in the behavioral welfare of their exhibited animals: (a) The use of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors and (b) the use of training to improve voluntary husbandry care. Whereas training itself has been talked about as an effective enrichment strategy, little has been done t...

Six-year follow-up of enrichment device delivery, and with penguin porpoising.

1.5-year follow-up of enrichment device delivery.

AZA Conservation Education Committee Newsletter, 13(2), 14-15.

Environmental enrichment has become a standard tool for improving the welfare of animals in zoos. Two critical steps in the manipulation of environmental enrichment are (1) selection of objects/procedures and (2) evaluation of their effects. In this study, we examined the selection and evaluation of feeding enrichment for four species of lemur. Exp...

Modern zoos strive to educate visitors about zoo animals and their wild counterparts' conservation needs while fostering appreciation for wildlife in general. This research review examines how zoos influence those who visit them. Much of the research to-date examines zoo visitors' behaviors and perceptions in relation to specific exhibits, animals,...

Studies on enrichment effects have become commonplace. However, few studies have assessed any overall trends in enrichment practices. Previous meta-analyses were limited to the effects of enrichment on specific behaviors, taxa, or settings. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of enrichment including multiple behaviors, taxa, and settings. We analyzed...

Over the past several decades, zoos have focused more directly on the welfare of their animal residents. The use of naturalistic enclosures, environmental enrichment, changes in the ways food is presented, and the use of operant conditioning practices are just a few examples of the attempts aimed at enhancing the well-being of zoo animals. This foc...

The use of Behavior Analysis within the animal training and welfare community has become commonplace. While the core principles of Behavior Analysis (i.e., a focus on reinforcement contingencies and functional understandings of behavior) are now frequently used for applied animal behavior purposes, it’s not always clear how this is directly applied...

Over the past several decades, zoos have focused more directly on the welfare of their exhibited species. The use of “naturalistic” enclosures, environmental enrichment, changes in the ways food is presented, and the use of training procedures are just a few examples of the attempts aimed at increasing the well-being of captive animals. This focus...

Paper presented at the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Seminar, Vancouver, BC (Canada).

Paper presented at The Ethics of Creating Motivation in Animal Training Symposium, Lund, SE (Sweden).

Zoo animals serve an important function in helping educate the public about their conservation needs. Despite this important function, little is understood about how visitors perceive different zoo exhibits and the animals that reside within them. In the present study, the behaviors displayed by two jaguars located at the Woodland Park Zoo were cor...

One of the most tedious aspects of the behavior consult is the record write-up. The ideal write-up should be detailed enough to serve as a legal document and to provide the information the client needs. It should be concise and organized well enough to allow you to quickly obtain an overview of the pet’s progress as well as factors, such as owner t...

Zoos have multiple functions, one of which is educating/entertaining visitors that come to the zoo. This plays an important role for other zoo functions; by educating and entertaining zoo visitors, they are more likely to gain support for their conservation efforts. In addition, visitors contribute money directly to the zoo, which helps the zoo car...

Poster presented at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Houston, TX.

The Humboldt penguin exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo currently houses 20+ individuals. Once a week (Fridays, 11 am) during the spring/summer, live trout are dumped into the exhibit for the penguins. We examined the result of this live feeding on the overall swimming activity of the group as a whole. Of primary interest is how the live feeds effect...

Behavioral stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function (Mason, 1991a; Ödberg, 1978). Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom or fear, and are typically “treated” by enriching captivity with distracting, appealing stimuli. These stimuli often i...

Animal welfare, education, conservation, research, and entertainment are major goals of modern zoos, but they can be in conflict. For example, visitors enjoy learning about and observing natural behavior in captive animals, but visitors often want to observe and interact with the animals in close proximity. Unfortunately, proximity to and social in...

Dissertation publication. It is available in book form: Fernandez, E. J. (2010). Stereotypies and Foraging: Appetitive Search Behaviors and Stereotypies in Captive Animals. VDM Publishing. ISBN-10: 3639252098 ISBN-13: 978-3639252095 (available on Amazon.com). File also available to view or download for free under my profile 'Book' section: http://d...

Zoos focus on welfare, conservation, education, and research related to animals they keep. Academic institutions emphasize description, experimentation, modeling, and teaching of general and specific animal biology and behavior through work in both laboratory and field. The considerable overlap in concerns and methods has increased interest in coll...

This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of a multi-step, positive-reinforcement training protocol, involving a remote-controlled food reward dispenser, for treatment of excessive barking, jumping, and crowding of the door by dogs when people come to the door. In Experiment 1, we tested the multi-step protocol in a laboratory setting to d...

Stereotypies have been described as repetitive, invariant behavior patterns with no obvious goal or function. One species, polar bears, have been noted to engage in a high frequency of movement-based stereotypic behaviors in captivity. While much has been done to deter such stereotypic behaviors in polar bears (predominantly through the use of enri...

Poster presented at the Sigma Xi Student Research Conference, Detroit, MI.

Poster presented at the Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference, Indianapolis, IN.

The modern zoo has brought about two major advances in the behavioral welfare of their exhibited animals: (a) The use of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors and (b) the use of training to improve voluntary husbandry care. Whereas training itself has been talked about as an effective enrichment strategy, little has been done t...

A study selected 5 cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) located at the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas, for a food preference assessment. The study used a paired-choice procedure across 7 different food items for all 5 tamarins. Preferences for the food items across all the tamarins varied, although general trends were noted as well. This ar...

Mode of access: Internet, via World Wide Web. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Title from title page display. Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2003. Includes bibliographical references.

Three sheep (Ovis aries) were clicker trained to be pet and brushed at the Frank Buck Zoo’s petting zoo. All three sheep, one a Hampshire sheep and two Jacob’s four-horned sheep, demonstrated a high frequency of moving away from trainers and keepers, and other similar undesired responses. The authors chose being brushed for training as an incompati...

Citation: Fernandez, E. J. (2001). Click or Treat: A Trick or Two in the Zoo. American Animal Trainer Magazine, 2, 41-44. Available in both English in Spanish. Click on the public file for the different versions.

Citation: Fernandez, E. J. (2001). ORCA: A New Kind of Lab. The Clicker Journal, 51, 18-23. Available in both English and Spanish. Click on the public files available for the different versions.

Citation: Fernandez, E. J. (2000). Introducing ORCA (Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals). American Animal Trainer Magazine, 1, 38-39